The Inherited Stars Series: You Are Here

Things are moving forward nicely in my Book Mom life, so this seems like an excellent time to stop and talk about where I am and where you are on the series timeline. 

So first the big news...

SpyDog is out on Kindle. Hurray! 

The timing is great, because this story has some ties to my October release, Juggernaut (Pets in Space® 5), though it takes place five calendars (years) after Juggernaut. 

Set on planet Banna, aboard a Network ship, and ultimately on MONA Loa station, Spy Dog fleshes out a behind-the-scenes mission that ends up being paramount to the pivotal event, Operation Reset. 

SpyDog literally takes place at the same time as the anchor novel, Inherit the Stars, shedding new light on the building insurrection in the anchor novel as Sair and Drea (aboard Specter) have their own confrontations with the Alliance. 

There are a few scenes that intersect with the novel, though from very different perspectives. The two books together flesh out the story in the same way that Rogue One gave new insights into the plans to blow up the Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope. 

For those that read Inherit the Stars, there are some big surprises in store in SpyDog! (And vice versa!)

Juggernaut, as part of Pets in Space® 5) is coming on October 6th and now available for pre-order. Pets in Space® 5 has already done quite well in the Amazon rankings, hitting #1 in one category and the top five in three others. We're hoping that's a good omen so we can make this the best year yet on donations to our charity, Hero-Dogs. 

As I mentioned, Juggernaut goes back five calendars in the timeline, and reveals something major in a big twist. (Thank you StarDog Cassie for your service. wink wink ) This "wrinkle in the universe" was one I had first planned to introduce in a later book, and then I had an epiphany--this discovery needed to be made earlier in the timeline.

And that's how Juggernaut transformed from an important story to a major event in the series timeline.

By the way, you can read an early review on Juggernaut by clicking here.

So what's next?

Courting Disaster

This fifth installment in the Inherited Stars universe was originally planned to release before SpyDog, but I've been wrestling with some issues that I felt needed close attention in the rewrite, as well as the planned expansions on the book. (It was originally published in Pets in Space® 2, but what's coming will be quite a different story from the original, character-arc wise.) 

I'm aiming for a release date in late October or November. Courting Disaster has just been listed on Goodreads, where readers can see regular updates, countdowns, excerpts and teasers and you can now add it to your Goodreads bookshelves as a Want to Read along with your book tags. 

If you're interested in following my updates, feel free to friend or follow me on Goodreads, too. (Please and thank you! I always love more friends so I can keep track of books you read/add to your shelves/or release.)

Courting Disaster is the latest book on the timeline to date, taking place three calendars after Operation Reset. It becomes clear the struggle with the Alliance has not necessarily ended in an HEA for everyone. There's more to the story, and Captain Jagger and Ketsia Tayah (from Inherit the Stars) find themselves thrust right into the midst of a sinister new threat.

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Captain Navene Jagger’s certainty he will be promoted to command a new battleship is doused when the admiral instead assigns him to what appears to be a suicide mission. If that isn’t bad enough, he finds his self-imposed status as a military monk in jeopardy when he is ordered to escort Ketsia Tayah and her StarDog through the treacherous, rogue-infested Bradley’s Rift in a battered derelict of a vessel – a task that also forces him to confront his painful past.

Ketsia’s experiences have made her stronger. She knows the universe is still a dangerous place, but it also turns out to be a lot smaller than she would have liked. Ketsia is rattled when she discovers that she and her StarDog are to be escorted by a man she once secretly adored. Can life get any more complicated when they are captured by dangerous rogues and must pretend they are married?

After Jagger learns the ship, the mission, and the StarDog are all much more than they seem, will he be able to protect Ketsia and salvage his career? Or will self-sacrifice be the only way to save those under his protection?

What are the Plans for the Series?

Let me add a figurative place marker arrow here to tell readers where they are in the series.

All of these books are standalone, but as you read them, familiar characters (human and otherwise) may get involved and add more layers to their part in Operation Reset, the struggle against the Alliance, and their contributions to the over-arching story.

Though these books can be read in any order -- and they certainly weren't published in order -- each new story adds more detail and insight into an epic conflict. Along with a romance, of course!

If you'd like to see the chronology this is where each book falls on the current timeline:

Juggernaut (Pets in Space® 5) - five calendars before Operation Reset

StarDog - six moons (months) before Operation Reset

Inherit the Stars - just prior to and during Operation Reset

SpyDog - just prior to and during Operation Reset

Courting Disaster - three calendars after Operation Reset

Farewell Andromeda - approximately 200 years after Operative Reset.

Why is Farewell Andromeda set so far in the future? Because there are more books coming, including a sequel to Farewell Andromeda that will make it clear how crucial this story is to the series timeline.

There's also a trilogy and many more books that will take place before the current times in the series. 

After all, there's a reason this series is called The Inherited Stars. Others must have come before who discovered these many Goldilocks worlds in a distant part of our own galaxy, and they in turn had to add their part to history before passing them down to future generations. 

Have a great week!